COVID-19: Rajesh Tope directs authorities to step tracing of people returned from Tablighi Jamaat function

The number of cases as at 10 am on Tuesday was 230, which increased by 82 to 302. This rise took place in the last four days, confirmed the state public health department.

Maharashtra Public Health Minister Rajesh TopeANI

Maharashtra Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope has directed the department personnel to find out who have returned to the state after attending the Tablighi Jamaat function in Delhi. His directives come after the number of coronavirus positive patients rose to a record 302 in the state of which 151 alone are in Mumbai.

The number of cases as at 10 am on Tuesday was 230, which increased by 82 to 302. This rise took place in the last four days, confirmed the state public health department.

Of the 82 confirmed cases, 59 are from Mumbai, 13 from Mumbai Metropolitan Region, five in Pune, 3 in Ahmednagar and two in Buldhana.

Tope said he has directed the department authorities and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to trace people, as it should be done on a massive scale. "I have also asked to trace how many people have returned to Mumbai after attending the Tablighi Jamaat function in Delhi. The strategy is tracing, testing and treatment to curb community level transmission. This will be helpful for the state from entering into the third phase of the coronavirus pandemic,’’ he noted.

Tope’s directives is important, as the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area has developed into one of the biggest hot spots in India. On Tuesday, the area was sealed and 800 people moving out in buses were quarantined in different parts of the city, as several more positive cases with links to the gathering held here in mid-March emerged.

In Delhi, 24 people, out of the 102 tested for the virus after being taken to Lok Nayak Hospital, were found positive so far, while reports of nearly another 200 taken to two other hospitals is still awaited. Another 11, who had attended the gathering of Tabligh-e-Jamaat, were found infected in Andhra Pradesh, the state government said on Tuesday. One patient was a close contact of a person who had attended the meet.